Radio and television

Of all the discoveries ever made by man, radio or wireless, is one of the most wonderful. By means of wireless, you can speak to a man on the other side of the world. Seated comfortably in your own home, you can hear music or talks, broadcast thousands of miles away from you - talks on national and international affairs, on science, history and other educational subjects.

I listen to the wireless almost every evening. Mine is an eight-valve set with an outdoor aerial, which gives splendid results. It has medium, long and short wave-lengths, and it's quite simple to manipulate. All I have to do is to turn a knob, or push a button to tune in to the station I require.

I use my set a good deal for keeping up my foreign languages. I find it a very useful addition to my Linguaphone Course. For English I tune to England, for French to France, For Dutch to Holland, for German to Germany, or Austria, for Russian to Russia, for Spanish to Spain, and for Italian to Italy.

More marvellous even than radio is television, which enables us not only to listen to talks, plays and concerts, but also to see what's going on. Who knows what the future may bring? It's possible that some clever scientist will invent an apparatus, which will enable us to read other people's thoughts. Should that happen, some people might feel quite uncomfortable.

Lesson 48

Part II

BROADCAST PROGRAMMES

• Well, how’s your set going?

• Oh, not too badly, though I've had some difficulty lately in getting good reception from the more distant stations.

• Yes, I've noticed quite a lot of interference on my own set too. I suppose it's the weather.

• Of course, mine's rather an old-fashioned model compared to yours. By the way, did you hear "Carmen" the other night?

• Yes, I did. Personally, I'm not very keen on opera, but my wife is, and "Carmen" happens to be one of her favourites, so I didn't like to suggest switching to another station. Fortunately for me, it was a translated version. I'm not good at languages, you know.

• What kind of programme do you like best, then?

• Oh, I like a straight play... I find some of the talks very interesting too, and I never miss the sporting events. I got most excited over the international rugger match last Saturday... You listen to the English station a good deal, don't you?

• Yes, I like their programmes very much and I understand nearly everything. With all the practice in ear-training I've had English pronunciation and intonation hold no terrors for me now, and if a speaker uses a word I'm not familiar with, the context usually gives the clue to the meaning.

• You're lucky, you know English. I wish I had your gift for languages.

• Well, I don't think I should call it a gift. Anyone who's prepared to take a little trouble can do the same. Where there's a will there's a way, you know.

Lesson 49

THEATRES, MUSIC-HALLS AND CINEMAS

Theatres are very much the same in London as anywhere else; the chief theatres, music-halls and cinemas are in the West End.

If you're staying in London for a few days, you'll have no difficulty whatever in finding somewhere to spend an enjoyable evening. You'll find opera, ballet, comedy and variety. Films are shown in the cinemas during the greater part of the day.

The best seats at the theatres are those in the stalls, the circle, and the upper circle. Then comes the pit, and last of all the gallery where the seats are the cheapest. Boxes, of course, are the most expensive. Most theatres and music-halls have good orchestras with popular conductors.

You ought to make a point of going to the opera at least once during the season, if you can. There you can get the best of everything - an excellent orchestra, famous conductors, celebrated singers and a well-dressed audience. But, of course, if you're not fond of music and singing, opera won't interest you.

At the West End theatres you can see most of the famous English actors and actresses. As a rule, the plays are magnificently staged - costumes, dresses, scenery, everything being done on the most lavish scale. Choose a good play and you'll enjoy yourself thoroughly from the moment the curtain goes up to the end of the last act. Get your seat beforehand, either at the box-office of the theatre itself, or at one of the agencies.

When you go to the theatre, you'11 probably want to sit as near to the stage as possible. But if you're at a cinema you may prefer to sit some distance from the screen. In fact, I should say, the further away the better.

Lesson 49

Part II